1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle temperature control system, which comprises an internal combustion engine with an engine block and with a cylinder head, and a heat source for heating a heat transfer medium, and to a method for operating a vehicle temperature control system of this type, in particular in a starting phase of the internal combustion engine or in a preheating phase preceding the starting phase of the internal combustion engine.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
In vehicle temperature control systems of this type, in which a heat transfer medium, generally a liquid, such as, for example, water, can be heated by the heat source in addition to the heat occurring in the internal combustion engine during the operation of the latter, various requirements have to be fulfilled during operation. On the one hand, a system of this type is to be operated in such a way that, when a vehicle begins to be used, there are for the driver agreeable ambient conditions, that is to say, for example, agreeable interior temperatures, defrosted windshields and the like. On the other hand, there are also increasingly more stringent statutory requirements to be met by the exhaust gas emission, particularly in the starting phase. Adhering to the statutory requirements becomes more difficult particularly for diesel internal combustion engines which deliver ever higher performances and torques. Thus, it is known, for pollutant emission in the starting phase, to conduct the heat provided in the heat source and transferred to the heat transfer medium primarily in the direction of the internal combustion engine, in order to heat the latter as quickly as possible to operating temperature or toward operating temperature and thereby make the cold-running phase with comparatively high pollutant emission as short as possible.